Rivalry is ground breaking
He said: “I remember going up as a squad member when I was younger but I never played. The ones I experienced were at Tannadice and the atmospheres were incredible.
“I’m pretty sure it will be the same on Sunday because we’ve sold out and are taking more. It will be good.
“We’d all like it four times a season. But the fans will love this because we never had it last year. Everyone is talking about it in the town.
“I watched Dundee last Saturday and they were decent, with guys like Scotty Allan and other quality players.
“We have a real ly young, energetic side as well though, so we will go there to play football and try to win.
“Some of my players will be playing in their first Dundee derby as well but the boys will be fine. Our winning mentality will be there.” Roarie Deacon grew up dreaming of starring in a London derby for Arsenal or a Tyne-Wear one with Sunderland.
But the minute he stepped out of his car at Dens Park and saw Dundee United’s ground a bye kick away, he knew how intense the Tayside rivalry would be.
And the Dundee winger can’t wait to sample it for the first time in their Betfred Cup Group C clash at Dens today.
Deacon, who arrived from Sutton United last month, said: “When I was a kid growing up at Arsenal and Sunderland I was desperate to play in big London or north-east derbies.
“The Sunderland v Newcastle one is the biggest I experienced.
“I was in and around the squad building up to a few of those games. The intensity of the training was unbelievable.
“You just wanted to win. In the north east you can’t lose a game against Newcastle so I know all about big rivalries and this is another one. It’s made more intense in Dundee because of the proximity of the two grounds.
“When I first signed and pulled up to Dens Park, I looked down the road and saw the other ground – I had no idea it was that close. I couldn’t believe you could kick a ball from one to the other.
“That makes the rivalry even bigger – the fact we’re so close to each other. The United players will walk to our ground which doesn’t happen anywhere else.
“This will be the biggest derby I have played in.”
Dundee are favourites for the tie which will determine who tops the group.
And Deacon added: “We don’t want to be walking around the town on Monday and the fans aren’t happy because we’ve lost.
“But that won’t be the case. We’re going into it 100 per cent focused on winning.
“We feel confident as the Premiership team. They’re coming to our ground and they’ll fear us at Dens Park – they’ll know we don’t want to lose or give up anything easy. We know what we have to do and should have a swagger about us.”